The Nerd's Alter Ego

Ch 2: Alter Ego

For any technical difficulties, the name of this chapter is 'Alter Ego'.

(unedited)

The picture is Nicky.

Nichole's p.o.v

"I'm home!" I shouted as I shut the door behind me.

"Welcome back," greeted my only brother. "How was school?"

"Same old, same old. What about work? You came back earlier than I expected." 

"Nothing exciting going on nowadays. Especially since a certain someone captured the kidnapping criminal," he narrowed his eyes at me. He was talking about the Phoenix incident.

I played innocent. "And who might that someone be?"

He rolled his eyes. "You know who. Whatever, just go change your clothes and get out of your stupid costume."

I chuckled. He was right; this was stupid. The nerd get up? It was all fake. My glasses weren't even real. The only reason I pretended to be a nerd was because I wanted to be alone. I realized that people tend to ignore nerds and geeks, so I decided to 'become' a nerd. i went upstairs to my room and got changed. I took off my glasses, opened my braids, etc. I wore casual jean shorts and a random shirt. Then I worked on Alex Carter's bracelet. I used to make a lot of these when I was a kid, so I had a lot of practice. I finished it in no time and kept it in my school bag so I wouldn't forget it at home. 

Then I went back downstairs and stopped at the picture of my parents in the hallway. I joined my hands together and prayed for their well-being in heaven. 

Yup, you heard me. Heaven. 

My parents died when I was twelve. My brother, Zac, and I live alone. It was hard in the beginning, I mean, we were just kids. Zac was seventeen at the time. Our grandparents lived in different states so no help from there. Our only aunt shunned us, saying we were extra luggage and nothing more. In other words, I was twelve, my brother was seventeen and we were completely helpless. We managed to survive the first few months by using what little money we had, but we got broke soon. We were kicked out of the house and were forced to live in an orphanage. 

Then our guardian angel came, aka Daniel Carter. He's Alex's father and the chairman of UnderKover. Apparently, he was good friends with my parents. And not to mention, their boss. My parents worked for UnderKover; they were spies. When Mr. Carter found about my parents death, he was distressed. He even came to their funeral. He didn't help us then because he thought our aunt took us in custody. When he found out she didn't, he offered a helping hand. 

He didn't take us in, he just gave my brother a job at UnderKover. My brother was always intrigued by our parents work, so it took him less than a year to get the hang of things and become a full time employee. But because of that, my brother never got to go to college. But he doesn't regret it. He always loved working at UnderKover. He was a natural prodigy when it came to spying. 

Soon, we had enough money to buy our own house, and have food in our mouths enough to stay healthy. Our house was small, two bedrooms, one living room, one bathroom, one store room, and a kitchen with a dining table. Most of the furniture here was re-bought by Mr. Carter from our old landlord. The jerk took every last penny for stuff that was ours. 

Anyway, we did repay Mr. Carter down to the last nickel, but it still doesn't seem enough. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be here right now. I really liked the man; he was like a long lost loving uncle. 

"Hey, Nicky," called Zac. "I'm hungry." 

My mother was the best cook I know, and I was a mommy's girl. So I was the one who made food around here. I actually really really loved cooking. Sometimes I even dream of opening up my own restaurant, but I know I won't. I prefer staying home rather than working.